Reconnaissance Trip

I had the day off last Friday so Jenny and I planned a ride in Mt. Vernon because this time of year the tulips fields “should be” in full bloom. For years one of Jenny’s dream rides has been to ride from tulip field to tulip field taking pictures as we rode. We had never done this ride before so this was going to be the year. That is until Friday morning arrived. On Friday morning we awoke to a very steady rain and our youngest child had come down with a cold.

As we weighed our options we decided to drive out to Mt. Vernon anyway to snap some photos. Of course our daughter assured us that she was well enough to go with us but not well enough to go to school. I’m not really sure how that could be but we gave in to her flawed logic.

When we got to Mt. Vernon we realized that the tulips were just starting to bloom so we were a couple of weeks too early if we wanted to get some good photos. Lucky for us the daffodils were in full bloom so we were able to snap some photos. Here are some of my favorites.

Doesn't look very sick does she?

On our way out of town Jenny spotted a road side produce stand she had heard about that also served amazing ice cream cones. Of course we stopped to sample their products. I swear, these cones were at least 2000 calories a piece but very tasty.

While we sat in the parking lot eating our ice cream we discussed some ride possibilities. I guess I've got a one track mind. Here’s the plan.

Drive to Mt Vernon and park at the produce stand parking lot. Ride through the tulip fields heading north up to Bellingham (which is very close to the Canadian border) then head south on Chuckanut drive down the coast. Finally, end the ride at the produce stand and have an ice cream cone as a recovery meal. I’m guessing this route will would be 60 – 70 miles long so the recovery ice cream will be very well deserved by then.

Even though we weren’t able to ride on Friday it was still a great reconnaissance trip for a future ride. We are planning on taking our oldest son with us when we do this route. I’m already looking forward to it.